Speech

transitional
phrases

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 Meaning & Usage: Speech
transitions.

Content Types of Transitions

Activity

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Meaning and
Usage : Speech
Transition

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 Speech transitions are words and phrases that
allow you to smoothly move from one point to
another

Meaning &
Usage: It makes your speech unified

Speech it becomes easier for the audience to understand

transitions.
a speech

As a general rule, you should use transitions in

your introduction, between each main point, and
before your conclusion.

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Types of Transitions

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Types of Transitions
Transitions when Introducing your topic:
• I will be looking at/identifying/investigating the effects of...

• Today I will be discussing...

• The topic I intend to talk about is …

Informing structure of your presentation:

• There are four key points I'll be discussing...

• I want to begin by..., and then I'll move on to...

• This presentation is divided into four parts...

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Types of Transitions
Transitions to the main topic:

• Now, let's look at the first part....../second part...../third part.....

• The first reason is [X]; the second reason is [Y]; the third reason is [Z]

• Now that we’ve seen the problem, let’s see how we can solve it.

Shift between similar points:

• In the same way...

• Likewise...

Shift between disagreeing points:

• However, ... /On the contrary, .../ on the other hand, ......
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Types of Transitions
Transition words that provide more information
• Besides/Furthermore/In addition

• Transition words that provide an example

• For instance / To illustrate/ For example

Transition to compare and contrast

To signal comparisons :like, in the same (like) manner or way,

similarly.

To indicate contrast :but, in contrast, conversely, however, still,

nevertheless, on the contrary.
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Types of Speech Transitions
Transition word to show time
• next, afterward, finally, later, last, lastly, at last, now, subsequently, then, when,
soon, thereafter, after a short time,
Transitions to show cause and effect
• As a result, hence, so, accordingly, consequently, thus, since, therefore, for this
reason, because of this
• Transitions to show emphasis
• In order to ensure that the audience get the message by informing them why
something is important:
• More importantly... / This is essential... / Primarily...
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Types of Transitions
Transition to a Supporting Quotation Transition from Speech Body into
Conclusion
• X said: …
• In short …
• In 1968, X said: …
• In summary …
• This idea was expressed clearly
by X who said … • In conclusion …

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Transition to a visual aid
•Preparing the audience for a visual aid:
• So, now let's look at....
• Now, I'd like to show you....

•To explain the purpose of a visual aid :

• The table/diagram shows...
• This graph/ table provides an overview

•To draw attention to key features of a visual:

• You can see that the columns to the left indicate.....
• The points in bold represent......
This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC.

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Transitions in group presentation
• In a team presentation, it is necessary to transfer
control between speakers.
• when passing the verbal baton to the next speaker (X)(we
can follow some examples given below)
• To talk about our next topic, we have X …
• I’ll pass the microphone to X who will describe …
• To guide us through the discussion, we have X …
• Now, I’d like to hand over to [NAME ] to talk about [Y].
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick:
"Thank you Z"
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ACTIVITY
TIME

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ACTIVITY TIME:
Circle the right option that correctly identifies the nature of the transition in each of the following sentences.

• 1. James is very active and enjoys exercising; on the contrary, Chris sits on his couch all day
playing video games.

• a. comparison and contrast

• b. time sequence

• c. Concluding the speech

• d. cause and effect

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ACTIVITY TIME:
Circle the letter that correctly identifies the nature of the underlined transition in each of the following sentences.

• 2. Many students with disabilities have much

better access to information these days.
Moreover, slower students who need to hear
material more than once can read or listen
repeatedly and learn at their own pace.

• . a. adding a similar idea

• b. contrast

• c. illustration/example

• d. cause and effect

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ACTIVITY TIME:
Circle the letter that correctly identifies the nature of the underlined transition in each of the following sentences.

• 3. In my discussion about global warming, I will 4. Now, let us look at the graph that shows how
be breaking it down into three parts. 200 international students from New town College
utilized their leisure time in 2019.
• . a. adding a similar idea
a. Cause and effect
• b. Signaling the structure of the speech
b. Preparing the audience for a visual aid
• c. illustration/example
c. signaling a conclusion
• d. cause and effect
d. illustration/example

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ACTIVITY TIME:
Circle the letter that correctly identifies the nature of the underlined transition in each of the following sentences.

• 5. Arthur C. Clarke, who was a science-fiction 6. Before the liquid starts boiling and changing
writer accurately predicted that for advanced color, milk is slowly added.
communication, satellites would be used. More
importantly, in 1947 he was the first one to
foretell that the first rocket to the moon would be a. Transition to signal time
launched in 1959
b. Transition to add emphasis
• . a. adding a similar idea
c. signaling a conclusion
• b. Signaling the structure of the speech
d. Transition to compare
• c. Transition to add emphasis

• d. cause and effect

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References

• Bell, D. (2014). Passport to Academic Presentation: Student’s Book. Reading: Garnet Publishing Ltd

Bequiri, G. (2018).Speech transitions: words and phrases to connect your ideas. Retrieved 2nd
October,2022 from https://virtualspeech.com/blog/speech-transitions-words-phrases

Miami Dade College. (2012). Transitional words and phrases. Retrieved 4th October,2022 from
https://www.mdc.edu/kendall/collegeprep/documents2/transitional%20words%20and
%20phrasesrevised815.pdf

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